The recent kidnapping of a Congolese priest illustrates some of the problems the Church has faced during the African nation’s prolonged conflict. Fr Celestin Ngango of St Paul Karambi Parish in the Diocese of Goma was kidnapped by armed men on April 1. He was leaving a parish after celebrating Easter Mass when the abductors…
Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, will serve as chief celebrant and homilist for the 36th annual Mercy Sunday celebrations at Knock Shrine this Sunday. Divine Mercy Sunday ceremonies will begin at 12.45pm with Divine Mercy Devotions led by Father Mark Byrne SOLT. Music during the celebrations will be provided by Knock Shrine…
Over 6,000 people from all over Ireland are expected to attend a pilgrimage to Knock this month to pray for the retention of the Eighth Amendment of the constitution. Currently 23 Diocesan Eucharistic Adoration Committees, hundreds of parish Adoration Committees and others are organising transport to Knock on Sunday, April 29 to pray with the…
Fr Joseph Mallin SJ, the last surviving child of an executed 1916 Rising leader has died at the age of 104. Fr Mallin, a Jesuit priest based in Hong Kong since 1948, died on Easter Sunday. His father had been Comdt Michael Mallin who had led the Irish Citizens’ Army troops at St Stephen’s Green…
A pair of passion plays were interrupted by gunfire on Good Friday as the violence convulsing Mexico continued claiming lives through the Holy Week holidays. An annual procession in Acapulco was suspended after the sound of gunshots sent participants and spectators fleeing, according to local press reports. The Guerrero state government said police were chasing…
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas John Curry as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for reasons of age. He has reached the retirement age for bishops of 75. The resignation was publicised in Washington, April 3, 2018, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop Curry…
Theresa Laurence Fr Pat Connor was on his way from a graduate class at the University of Memphis to St Joseph Hospital to visit a priest friend the evening of April 4, 1968. That’s when he heard the news crackle over his car radio speakers: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr had been critically injured…
A leading pro-life activist has criticised information provided in a fact sheet outlining the implications of the planned referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in Ireland, arguing that it is the product of a “political campaigning tool”. Commenting on the information published by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (IOG) of the Royal…
Before washing the feet of 12 prisoners, Pope Francis told them and hundreds of inmates to remember that Jesus constantly stands before them with love, ready to cleanse their sins and forgive them. “Jesus takes a risk on each of us. Know this: Jesus is called Jesus, not Pontius Pilate. Jesus does not know how…
Chaz Muth Deacon Timothy Tilghman, his sister and his cousin still remember the enormous sense of loss they felt when they received that news on April 4, 1968 that Dr King had been killed. The deacon, who is on the staff of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Southeast Washington, was 15 and…